Everybody knows it. Origami is the Japanese art of folding squares of paper into representational shapes ( from Japanese ori fold + kami paper). It's one of those things I really will never be able to approach... because it needs something I totally lack: patience, order and extreme manual ability. However I find it really charming and I want to show you some of the best Origami I've seen. Being a SeaWayBLOG post I've limited this list to aquatic animals but this is more than enough to see beautiful examples of this Japanese art.

The first Origami of this list is the Crane by Roman Diaz. Roman is probably my favourite origamist, his creations always share an inexplicable touch of "magic", a sort of elegance that make them seem dreamlike creatures sorted out of a fairytale... Isn't this Crane incredibly refined and delicate?Roman Diaz has a very nice blog, Dosis Diaria de Origami (Origami daily doses in espanol), unfortunately the doses are published more on a monthly bases rather than on a daily bases but it's definetely worth your visit.THE HIPPOCAMPUSHippocampus by Ramon Diaz

This "Hippocampus" is another creation of Roman Diaz. As you can see it's more a mythological rendition than a tightly biological one. This one and many other Diaz's origami are explained in his book Origami for Interpreters.THE FLAMINGOFlamingo by Philip West

This wonderful Flamingo has been folded by Philp West, a very good origamist who have a huge Flickr Gallery of his creationsTHE BEAVERBeaver by Brian Chan

Look at Brian Chan's beaver, the texture of the tail is amazing.. isn't it?Chan is a mechanical engineer with a great passion for origami ( the Hermit Crabs are from him too)THE LOBSTERLobster by Sipho

THE OCTOPUSOctopus by SiphoTHE PUFFER FISHPuffer Fish by SiphoThe Lobster, The Octopus and The Puffer Fish are Sipho's creations, the PufferFish is particularly curious because it can be inflated or deflated just like a true Fugu!Sipho himself eplain it here:

A simple but effective white sperm whale designed by Roman Diaz and folded by Philip WestTHE HERMIT CRABThe following are different version of Hermit Crab realized by Brian Chan for the Origami USA Convention 2008.In this page you can see some picture by Andrew Cribb of Brian Chan's Hermit Crabs and other creations. Take a look to the amazing "Attack of the Kraken".. an entire movie action scene in an origami!

Hermit Crabs by Brian Chan

THE CRABS

Crab by Brian Chan

Brian Chan has created also the common crabs and the results are always excellent.To understand the care for details a master origamist can achieve take a look at the following crab. As you may notice a good origami should appear perfect in all his parts, even the less visible like the abdominal side of the crab. Truly amazing.

Crab by Brian Chan

For the aforementioned reason the best origamist often are also quite cultured iabout animal anatomy in order to correctly create even the tiniest details. Look at the following Fiddler Crab and how Chan has achieved to realized its asymmetrical claws which in nature are used for courtship displays.

Crab by Brian Chan

Here you can find these and many other Chan's origami. Take a look, you'll be amazed.THE FLYING CARP

The Flying Carp by Brian Chan

I cannot stop admiring the beauty of the scales of this Flying Carp, an animal from Chinese Mythology that, according tothe legend, generated the Dragon.

THE SWANThe Swan

Finally The Swan which is a classic Origami for experts. Its elegance is unrivaled.In the following picture you can admire better the hundreds of folds its realization requires.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief introduction to the wonders of the Origami art, realized through the display of examples with aquatic animals.

My little journey in the world of Origami dosn't end here. If you've enjoyed it, there are two other posts that you might enjoy as well: